


three (3) missed calls

by adumbitch



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, M/M, as in they're not idols
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:07:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26413141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adumbitch/pseuds/adumbitch
Summary: in which no one can keep a secret to save their lives but it's okay
Relationships: Park Jinyoung/Jackson Wang
Comments: 12
Kudos: 63





	three (3) missed calls

**Author's Note:**

> trying to fix the never-ending jinson drought once again  
> \+ wanted to write a lil smth for jinyoung's birthday so here we are!
> 
> (take a shot every time i say birthday)

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!”

Jinyoung put the phone further away from his now aching ear, grimacing slightly.

Okay so, maybe answering a phone call from Jackson on full volume on his birthday hadn't been the brightest of ideas. The thing is, he had already missed three of his calls while getting ready so he hadn't had the heart to miss yet another one no matter how late he was running. Hopefully the guys would not kill him on his own birthday. He could still feel the hint of a smile growing on his lips as he repositioned the phone against his head once he dimmed it safe enough.

“You already wished me happy birthday. Yesterday. At 11:59pm. Wasn't even my birthday yet but you wanted to be 'the very first one to say it to me',” he pointed out, struggling to lock his front door with his only free hand. He hadn't been able to find his earphones before leaving and he really regretted choosing to deal with the consequences of not bringing them later when he hadn't known later would come so soon.

“And? I was the first one wasn't I?”

He wasn't. One of Jinyoung's clearly very clueless cousins had sent him a brief happy birthday text about a week before. His number wasn't even saved in Jinyoung's phone and he had to look everywhere for his old one in the hope of finding a corresponding number in his old contact list. He didn't even remember the last time he had ever seen let alone texted him so he couldn't be bothered to correct him. To be very honest, Jinyoung didn't even know what month this cousin was even born on so he couldn't blame him for not knowing the exact day. In the end he had just thanked him, but Jackson didn't need to know any of that.

“Yeah, you were. Thank you.”

“Ah! I knew it! It's not easy being the absolute best friend in the world but someone has to do it,” Jackson said and under his teasing tone Jinyoung could still hear how excited he was at the promise of having been the very first one to tell him. He could almost hear him smile so so big through the phone, and Jinyoung had never wanted to see someone as bad as he did in that very moment, unconsciously pressing the phone even harder against his ear, as if it could bring them any closer. But this wouldn't happen before at least two long months. And if in the meantime, telling a few totally harmless white lies could make him hear his friend's voice fill with happiness, he was not about to hold back.

“Oh and who would that be?”

“....Very funny. Hilarious, even. It is your birthday though, so I'll let it slide. Another great testimony of my unmatched generosity.” Jackson's answer sounded a bit more distracted, his voice seeming to come from further away. “Do you... have any plans for today by the way?”

“Hm... maybe.” Jinyoung took a quick look down the road to make sure the bus was not on its way yet. It wasn't but bus drivers had the nasty habit of speeding up on this road since it was a perfect straight line, driving right past the bus stop. He wasn't about to wait god knows how long for the next one so he picked up his pace, changing the ear his phone was pressed on. “My mom called me yesterday, she said I could come for dinner and stay there for the week-end if I want to. My sisters might come too so–“

“No!” Jackson suddenly sounded like he was close to the phone again, almost panting as if he were the one speed-walking up a road right then. “I mean– why would you want to spend hours on the train on your birthday? And didn't you already visit them like two weeks ago?”

Jinyoung finally arrived at the bus stop and sat down in victory, holding in a sigh of relief in case Jackson would mistake it for annoyance. “Well, I didn't have anything planned for today, so I thought might as well... Why do you have so many feelings about this?”

“Because it's your birthday and as the most amazing person ever you deserve to have the most amazing day ever. Don't make me fly back to Korea to make you.”

Jackson would always say things like this. And you'd think, after having known him for so long Jinyoung would have gotten used to it but it would still take him aback every single time. For a moment he thought about answering him 'what if I want you to fly back to Korea though' because he did, he really did but the words seemed to be stuck in his throat. He hid his face in the neck of his sweater, fully aware Jackson couldn't see him anyway.

“I'll think about it. I'm already on my way to meet some of the guys anyway so I can't leave just yet. What about you, what are you doing today?”

There was a short pause on the other end of the line, as if Jackson was still unsatisfied with the change of subject and was debating going back to it but in the end he gave in and said: “Uh... I might see my brother and Aimee later today since they're here? Wait– you're seeing the guys and you did not miss the bus? I'm impressed, Park Jinyoung.”

“Yeah, no thanks to you calling me right as I was leaving.”

“We both know it would have been a close call anyway. Plus no one forced you to answer.”

“Your three missed calls and seven unread messages did.”

“Please! Those are just excuses. You just can't stay away.”

Jinyoung didn't have the energy to deny it and could already see the bus in the distance, meaning he'd have to put an end to this call soon anyway. He stood up, ready to wave at the already speeding bus driver.

“Yeah, I cant.”

  
  


*

Jinyoung pushed the door of the café open, making the little bell on top of it chime over the hum of people chatting and the clatter of cutlery on plates. He stepped a bit farther in, careful not to run into any of the waiters while scanning the establishment for his friends. The tables were thankfully not as packed as some other places in the neighborhood so it wouldn't have taken him too long to spot them even if Yugyeom hadn't seen him walk in first, immediately raising his arm and calling out 'hyung' to attract his attention.

“Where are Bambam and Youngjae?” Jinyoung asked once he sat down next to them, already idly looking at the menu, purposely leaving out Jaebeom's name as there was no need to wonder where he was. One thing Jinyoung loved about his friends was that no matter how late he was, chances were Jaebeom would be even more so.

Mark and Yugyeom looked at each other and both stammered until Mark finally said: “They're busy, but they said they'd join us later” which Yugyeom vigorously nodded along to.

“Hm... was Bambam held back at the restaurant again?” Jinyoung asked, taking a piece out of one of Mark's cookies on the table, knowing full well he wouldn't complain, birthday or not. He at least had the decency not to show the distaste on his face once he put it in his mouth, making a mental note not to order these, ever.

“Yes!” Yugyeom rushed to answer right before taking a bite out of a cookie that looked even worse than Mark's ones, making it really hard for Jinyoung not to question his friends' taste buds.

He couldn't believe they'd dragged him to an American food café on that day of all days but still looked back to the menu to see if there was anything actually edible here. Which would have been a lot easier if his friends' phones wouldn't keep buzzing every few seconds in the middle of the table. Jinyoung looked up in their direction to see if they would do anything about it but it only made their hands fly to their phones to quickly put them away in their pockets.

“You... can look at your phones you know. I'm still looking at the menu anyway.” His eyes went back down to the same page he had been staring at without really absorbing any of its content to prove his point. Some of their products did look really appetizing on the pictures but he was scared they would come out as atrocious as those demon cookies.

“Nah... It's nothing important this can wait for later,” Mark assured him before leaning back against the booth seat only to notice Yugyeom had already finished his hot chocolate and offering him some of his which Yugyeom took gratefully.

There was not much Jinyoung could say to that so he simply nodded and walked to the register to order drinks and point at bakery goods he did not find too suspicious-looking for Jaebeom and him, buying them all time as he would probably take hours to pick what to eat once he'd finally show up. He shot a quick glance at their table while the employee was taking care of his order to see his friends rushing back to their phones, furiously tapping on their screens. He put on his polite smile to thank the employee handing him the tray with his order and the bell rung just as he sat back down at their table, Mark and Yugyeom's phones already long gone. He didn't know what was more surprising, Jaebeom arriving almost on time or his apple pie turning out to be pretty tasty in the end.

Jaebeom sat down, hair falling messily on his forehead and a bit out of breath, and thanked Jinyoung when he pushed the food he had gotten him to his side of the table, diving in his donuts right away. Judging by how he practically inhaled the first one, they weren't half bad either unless his palate wasn’t that refined either. Jinyoung looked at him put almost the entirety of the second one in his mouth and asked:

“So, when's the surprise party?”

“Around 6 pm I think?”

It's in moments like these that Jinyoung wished eyes could record everything, just to be able to keep the image of Yugyeom and Mark's mortified faces with him, forever. He could look back at them whenever he'd feel down and instantly feel better. But these were nothing, _nothing_ next to the glorious look on Jaebeom's face when he realized what he had just said, mouth still full of donuts and all. He'd have to make do with his memory but it was fine by him; from then on, he would make making sure no one in this room forgets what had happened his duty. They honestly got it coming for assuming he wouldn't find out when they were all being so blatantly obvious.

“What are we gonna tell Jackson hyung now?” Yugyeom said in a small voice and Mark seemed to have simply given up on his friends after that, his eyes closing in desperation.

This wasn't as if Jinyoung hadn't figured out Jackson was behind this too anyway; Jackson had a ton of qualities, in fact one could have easily written entire essays about everything Jackson was great at, but lying was not one of them. He was a terrible liar and their last phone call had been no exception. Still, Jinyoung had wanted to be absolutely certain his brain hadn't just been influenced by wishful thinking when being wrong would've been too painful. They all missed Jackson; it was only for half a year, but ever since he went back to China for his internship there was a gap not even the six of them could fill. And although Jinyoung enjoyed every second of the hours they would spend on their weekly phone calls, after a while even this wasn't enough.

He couldn't believe they'd see him today, couldn't believe they'd get to actually see him smile, hear him talk, make him laugh.

In retrospective, he should've seen it coming. Maybe two months earlier, Jackson had called him so they could watch funny videos together over the phone which was Jackson language for feeling lonely but not wanting to address it. After a few hours (Jinyoung couldn't tell you why now, maybe it had been because of one of the videos they had put on), they had ended up talking about birthdays, which one had been their best, which one had been their worst, leading Jinyoung to admit he never really had a birthday party apart from going for a few drinks with his friends or having dinner with his family. Which, if we were to listen to Jackson did not count and was the most scandalous thing his friend had ever heard.

After that, they hadn't been able to go two minutes into the call without Jackson trying to convince him to do something for his birthday until Jinyoung promised him he would one day. Guess Jackson wasn't willing to wait that long and had decided to take the matter into his own hands.

He couldn't wrap his mind around the idea of anyone doing this much for him and now that the realization was finally hitting him he felt like his heart was about to explode all over the booth table. He took a deep breath.

“No.”

All three pairs of troubled eyes looked in his direction.

“Don't tell him anything. I will go where you need me to at 6 pm just as planned and I'll be the most surprised person you guys have ever seen.”

  
  


*

  
  


“So, where were Bambam and Youngjae, really?” Jinyoung remembered to ask as they were catching their breaths in between two flights of stairs. Why the hell did Yugyeom have to live on the 6th floor of a walk-up apartment?

“They lost rock paper scissors; they're helping Jackson setting up everything.” Yugyeom's chest was barely even heaving. He clearly did not need the pauses but still stopped for his panting friends' sake, probably unaffected by the effort as he was used to going up the steep stairs everyday and definitely not because Jinyoung was the one getting old, he wasn't about to let his thoughts wander to these dangerous grounds on his birthday.

“Oh so doing something for me is seen as a punishment now?”

“If said something includes Jackson being after your ass the whole time because he wants everything to be absolutely perfect, then yes, I'd much rather go eat a few donuts with you guys,” Jaebeom said in between deep breaths as they were climbing the final set of stairs and everyone else snorted in agreement.

Jinyoung's thoughts were all echoing in his head, so loud he couldn't hear their heavy breaths resonating in the staircase nor the tread of their shoes hitting each step. Saying Jackson going to that extent for his birthday was hard to believe would've been the biggest lie in history as it was in fact perfect Jackson behavior. This was merely who he was, he would do absolutely anything to make the people around him happy, and had so so much love to give he forgot he deserved the world in return, too. Jinyoung tried to ignore the wave of embarrassment threatening to crash over him for not doing better in the past. He felt ridiculous for only taking Jackson to a restaurant at the very last minute for his birthday right before he left. And he didn’t want to even think about the watch he had gotten him on which you could find both of their time zones which could’ve been sweet if there hadn’t been only an hour difference between them. He kept telling himself that they simply had different ways of showing affection, and that Jackson had loved the presents anyways when he looked up to realize they were at the front door, Yugyeom already pushing it open, not giving him any time to prepare himself.

“SURPRISE!”

And he didn't even really have to fake it. He had been so stuck in his own head that he had forgotten what going up those stairs really meant.

Yugyeom's apartment was covered with so many blue banners and balloons you'd think a baby gender reveal party had just been held by people who cared a bit too much about gender stereotypes. Every single cup and stupid party hat everyone was wearing had little stickers of Jinyoung's face on them and there were three whole birthday cakes on the table but Jinyoung barely registered any of this. His eyes went straight to Jackson and no words could describe how good it felt to look across a room and see him standing right there, running towards him with the biggest grin on his face, and it simultaneously seemed too fast and not fast enough at all before he was embracing him in a tight hug.

“You did all this?” Jinyoung's surprised-filled eyes scanned his friend's face once they stepped back a bit for Jackson to put one of the ridiculous party hats on his head, careful not to hurt him when he let go of the elastic strap. He looked a bit tired which was to be expected after spending the day organizing a surprise party right after getting out of the plane. Yet, he was still glowing, and maybe it was just Yugyeom's really good lightning in his apartment, but it seemed like his smile was lighting up the entire room.

Jackson looked back at the rest of their friends behind him. "I mean, I got help."

Jinyoung nodded gravely. "Hm... must be hard being the absolute best friend in the world."

"It is! Thank you for your concern!" He tried to match Jinyoung's put-on seriousness by nodding back at him and closing his eyes for a bit but couldn't conceal the totality of the excitement in his voice nor stop his lips from sliding upwards. Jackson's smile had always been the most contagious and soon enough, Jinyoung couldn't help but break into one too, laughing softly. He definitely had to ask Yugyeom what light bulbs he was using that seemed to be making Jackson’s big eyes sparkle even more so than usual as he refused to believe it was the result of him solely repeating the words his friend had told him earlier that day.

"So, are we gonna address the fact that Jackson hyung did not fly back here for my birthday,” Youngjae pointed out before accepting one of the cups Jaebeom was handing out to everyone while Mark was filling them.

"Yeah, didn’t see him fly back here for mine either." Mark looked up from the cup he had just put aside for Jaebeom to take, eyebrow raised and lips pursed.

"Wow, I can’t believe hyung is coming back just in time for mine, he must really love me more than you guys.” Yugyeom took a sip from his own cup and joined Bambam who was nursing a beer against the kitchen counter, Dalkyum laying at his feet.

“You… you can’t expect me to not go to work for a whole month!” Jackson ignored Yugyeom’s comment as everyone knew the reason he was coming back in November was that it marked the end of his internship but he still took the bait the others threw him. Riling him up was way too easy and his friends were having a field day using it against him. “I could only take two days off so I couldn't have possibly been there for all of your birthdays!”

“Oh, so you chose Jinyoung hyung over Youngjae hyung and Mark hyung... I see how it is.” Bambam shook his head in disbelief, not wasting a second to join in on the teasing Jackson agenda, drawing a dramatic gasp out of everyone else in the room, ready to rub it even further in. Dalkyum looked up at them, confused.

Jackson seemed so offended by the idea that he'd pick favorites that he couldn't form a coherent enough answer and after waiting for him to utter an actual sentence for the third time Jinyoung took pity on him, concealing his own amusement. “Ya, Bam-ah! Did you even offer a beer to anyone when you got yours or is this just a replay of the Melona ice cream all over again?”

“You're not even gonna offer one to your hyung on his own birthday? Way to think about others.” Jaebeom had just started slicing one of the cakes for everyone and the big knife he was holding might have helped him look more threatening if he didn't also have a bit of blue icing on his chin.

Jinyoung's job here was done and now that he had successfully diverted the attention to someone else, he went to the fridge, took out two of the same beers and uncapped them before walking back to Jackson, holding out one of them for him. Jackson shook his head and turned around, and Jinyoung was about to set the beer aside, thinking Jackson was on a new diet that forbade him from drinking anything alcoholic when he came back to set two empty cups right next to them.

“No drinking out of anything but these amazing cups,” he said and now that Jinyoung finally saw them from up close, he could see the stickers of his face had the words 'Happy Birthday' embedded between two love hearts on them.

“Bambam is though?” He nodded to their poor friend who was still trying to convince everyone he hadn't offered anyone beers because they already had drinks of their own in their hands.

“No drinking out of anything but these amazing cups as of right now?” Jackson corrected, before taking one of the cups Jinyoung had just filled with the beers.

They lit up the candles on the cake Jaebeom hadn't sliced yet and Jinyoung didn't know if he was more embarrassed by his friends all trying to one-up each other singing happy birthday in the most dramatic way possible– Youngjae was clearly winning but Bambam and Jaebeom weren't too far behind– or the cardboard stands with his face on the cake that were threatening to catch fire at any time. He quickly blew out the candles, saving one of the cardboard Jinyoungs' hair from completely burning away.

For people who had just come back from a café where they had eaten already, they didn't shy away from the cake and halfway through receiving gifts, the first one had vanished. When Jinyoung looked up from the present he had just unwrapped– books he had put on his wish list from Jaebeom– it appeared that so had Jackson. It was probably nothing to worry about, so Jinyoung thanked Jaebeom, telling him that he could lend him the books once he'd be done reading so that they can discuss them. He turned to Bambam and Yugyeom who had brought a join gift.

“Is that supposed to be some kind of message?” Jinyoung stared right at the bottle of perfume in the box he had just unwrapped.

“No!!” Yugyeom immediately assured him. “We just thought it'd be a nice gift, I swear!”

Jinyoung chuckled. “I know, I was just messing with you.” He opened the bottle, sprayed some of it on his wrist and brought it up to his nose. It had a very delicate smell, quite present but not so strong that it would give you a headache. “I really like it, thank you.”

“So, how was it setting all this up with Jackson? Jaebeom hyung said he was a bit demanding?” He asked, taking advantage of Jackson not being in the room to inquire about this afternoon.

“Yeah, I mean a bit,” Bambam shrugged. “But it was to be expected with his big fat cru–“

He abruptly stopped when Yugyeom oh so subtly kicked him in the shin. “So, you like the perfume? I'm so glad you did! Bambam thought it smelled kinda boring but I thought you might like that. N-not that you're boring but I couldn't see you wearing a like super weird perfume, if it makes any sense?”

Jinyoung couldn't hear him over the sound of his own beating heart.

His ears could've deceived him; mishearing things happened. However, there was no mistaking the reactions to Bambam's presumed slip-up and how awkward it immediately made everyone. The sudden change in atmosphere was palpable, and Yugyeom's panicked rant wasn't making it any better.

Jinyoung stood up from his chair, still dazed. “I... I'm just gonna go– yeah.” He made a vague gesture towards the corridor, not certain where to go himself, just knowing he needed to clear his head, alone.

“NO!” He heard as soon as he closed the door to Yugyeom's room behind him.

Jackson.

Jinyoung's currently very mushy brain clearly hadn't taken the possibility that he might be in one of these rooms into consideration. Turning back now would only make it seem more suspicious. And there was no reason he couldn't be in the same room as him anyway, he was fine. His heart was totally not about to burst out of his chest.

“Jinyoung go away! I'm not done writing on your birthday card yet!” Jackson put both of his hands on top of the card before turning it around and hiding it with his entire body instead, not that Jinyoung would've been able to read any of its content from where he was standing anyway.

“Ah, you should see your face!” Jackson abandoned his birthday card to get closer to his friend, laughing when he caught sight of him. “You're blushing! After what? Not even two beers? You're such a lightweight, Nyoungie. Cute.”

“What can I say, I'm getting old. Can't hold my liquor as well as I used to.” And maybe he _was_ kind of a lightweight if he were to believe the warmth spreading in his chest at the term of endearment.

“Oh my God, remember that one time we all went to that bar close to Mark hyung's place and you–“

Jinyoung reflexively slapped a hand over Jackson's mouth. He was not ready to hear about the time he climbed on a handrail and all of his friends had to hold him by his feet after he almost fell for the nth time again. The guys sent pictures of that incident in the group chat way too often to his own taste so he sadly was not about to forget about it anytime soon, although not for lack of trying. He was honestly surprised none of them had posted the video they had taken of him that day on their instagram story for his birthday yet but foolishly hoped it stayed that way.

And maybe he really was drunk after all because he hadn't noticed earlier but, their proximity made him feel kind of dizzy.

And maybe Jackson was too because his cheeks were tinted a pretty pink color for someone who had just made fun of his flushed face not even a minute ago.

And maybe they weren't drunk at all.

Jackson had already gone silent for a while and Jinyoung had been staring for a bit too long by now. His cheeks grew a bit impossibly warmer at the realization. He finally let his hand slide down the other's face, a bit slower that he meant to, drawing a sharp intake of breath out of Jackson who quickly looked away.

“I hope you washed your hands for once,” Jackson tried to joke it off, letting out a weak laugh that just sounded forced when he was not even able to meet Jinyoung's eyes.

And it really didn't help that Jinyoung's hand was still locked on the back of his neck. He seemed physically incapable of dropping it, his thumb stroking the warm skin there, more in an attempt to soothe himself than Jackson.

Jackson liked him, had flown back from another country, just to see him.

He liked him, had done all this, probably prepared everything weeks to months in advance, just for him.

 _He liked him_.

And Jinyoung was pretty sure he liked him back. Had been for a while. His racing heart and the way he couldn't take his eyes nor his hands off of him now that he had him back were just further proof. His eyes fell down to his pretty lips and when Jackson looked back at him, eyes automatically dropping to his own, he slowly brought his face closer to his, their noses brushing against each other.

“No.” Jackson regretfully moved backward a bit, eyes searching Jinyoung's face for the uncertainty he expected but couldn't seem to find. “I don't think you're thinking straight.”

“I'm not drunk,” he assured him quietly. “Sseun-ah. I'm not drunk. I swear, I didn't even finish that one beer. It's not alcohol, it's just– you're just...” Jinyoung shook his head, at a loss for words. How do you tell your friends you like them so fucking much it seems like you won't ever be able to focus on anything else anymore?

“Yeah, you too,” Jackson breathed out, almost in awe, still having a hard time believing what was happening. He lifted a shy hand to Jinyoung's face before carefully tracing his lower lip with his thumb, so so softly, as if Jinyoung was something precious, something worth admiring.

Jinyoung didn't think his heart had ever ached this painfully before. He placed his hands on Jackson's waist in what he had meant as encouragement but was embarrassed to notice they were trembling slightly. Still, the touch seemed to have grounded Jackson somehow, because the next thing he knew, the other brought his hand to the nape of his neck and pulled him towards him in a tentative kiss. He could feel his shaky breath on his lips when Jackson drew back after a few too short seconds, lingering just a few centimeters away, giving him a way-out, if he needed one.

He didn't. Jinyoung brought them closer together with the hand he had kept on his waist, moving the other one higher up to cup his face, guiding him back to his awaiting lips. Jackson eagerly kissed him back, his arm raising to card his fingers through his hair, deepening the kiss.

“I missed you so much,” Jackson whispered in between two kisses, simultaneously sounding pained and relieved, and Jinyoung felt it deep into his soul. He pressed them impossibly closer, thinking about how just when he finally got the chance to have him, Jackson would very soon be taken away from him again, unwilling to let go.

“Me too, me too.”

This would've been a great time to remember their friends were just two rooms away, waiting for them in the living-room, if Jinyoung's mind wasn't filled with only Jackson, Jackson, Jackson. He just needed a little bit more of their lips moving perfectly together, of his tongue sliding against his, of his hand running through his hair. A little bit more of Jackson happily humming against his lips when Jinyoung started stroking his face, of feeling him smile against his skin.

“Well, happy birthday to me,” he said once they put a bit of space between each other in order to catch their breaths, reluctant to get too far away. A little chuckle escaped his lips and Jinyoung felt like he had never heard himself sound this happy before.

Jackson winced, tilting his head to the side. “Don't make me regret this,” he said, failing to look unamused, his scrunched up nose only making Jinyoung want to kiss him again and again and again, and he could, so he did.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading, i hope you enjoyed it<3  
> english still isn't my first language... who wouldve thought... so as usual im sorry if i made any mistakes 
> 
> (also i hope this does not perpetuates the jackson throwing parties in fics agenda as i despise!!! this!!! meme!!!!; this is just jackson wanting to do smth nice for his 'friend' + it's more of a lil get together than a party.. i-i guess?)


End file.
